10.7 million viewers, and a lot of email

By Ben Smith

04/17/08 01:53 PM EDT

The ABC debate, according to the network, got 10.7 million viewers.

It also triggered the most furious outrage I've seen from the huge, and growing, Obama activist base, which in this case merged with the liberal Netroots -- which aren't always on the same page -- to generate a volume of complaints about the first 45-minutes of questioning that are pretty impossible to miss.

It's just a small glimpse, I think, of the level of heat the media is going to take in the general election, and John McCain doesn't seem to have any equivalent.

ALSO: No breakdown by state, but this: "Additionally, the debate beat “American Idol” program-to-program in four markets: Philadelphia, Orlando, San Antonio, Albuquerque, according to Household ratings."